Endowment of a land which is mortgaged for its price

17-8-2006 | IslamWeb

Question:

We have been given a piece of land as waqf to build a mosque, but we can not obtain the title to it because the some morgage is still unpaid. My understanding is that for waqf to be valid the land must be free from any burdence/obligation. Please clarify. Thank you kindly. Ninin

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

 

It appears from the question that this piece of land that was given as an endowment for a mosque is a mortgaged land for its price; and the question here is; it permissible for this land to be considered as an endowment or not? The answer is that if it is considered as an endowment as from now on while it is mortgaged, then this is not permissible. However, if it is considered as an endowment only once it is free from mortgage, then this is correct.

Ad-Dusooqui from the Maaliki School of jurisprudence said: 'It is not permissible to consider something which is mortgaged as an endowment while other people have a right in it. However, if what is given as an endowment is intended to become an endowment after paying off the mortgage, then this is correct, since it is not a condition for the endowment to be effective immediately.'

Allaah Knows best.